How to Roll Out an Unlimited PTO Policy in 2023 — Without Making Yours Customers Suffer for It

As a human resource leader, you understand the importance of offering competitive benefits to attract and retain top talent. One increasingly popular benefit that some companies are offering is unlimited paid time off (PTO). This type of policy allows employees to take as much time off as they need, without having to track their days or worry about running out of leave.

While an unlimited PTO policy may sound appealing to both employees and employers, it's important to carefully consider how it will be implemented in order to avoid any negative consequences for customers. 

Here are 5 tips for rolling out an unlimited PTO policy without making customers suffer for it:

1. Communicate the policy clearly

The first step in rolling out an unlimited PTO policy is to clearly communicate the details to your employees. Make sure they understand that the policy is not a free-for-all and that they are still expected to meet the demands of their job.

Explain how the policy will be monitored and managed, and outline any expectations or guidelines that employees should follow. For example, you may require employees to notify their manager in advance of any planned time off and ensure that coverage is arranged for their responsibilities.

2. Set realistic expectations

It's important to set realistic expectations for both employees and customers when implementing an unlimited PTO policy. While employees may be excited about the prospect of taking as much time off as they want, it's important to remind them that their job responsibilities still need to be met.

At the same time, customers should be made aware that an unlimited PTO policy does not mean that there will always be someone available to serve them. Make sure to have backup plans in place, such as cross-training other employees or bringing in temporary staff, to ensure that customer needs are still being met.

3. Monitor and adjust as needed

An unlimited PTO policy is a new way of doing things, and it's important to monitor how it is being implemented and make any necessary adjustments. Keep track of employee absences and make sure that there is enough coverage to meet customer demands.

If you find that too many employees are taking time off at the same time, or that customer service is suffering as a result, you may need to revisit your guidelines and make changes to ensure that the policy is being implemented effectively.

4. Foster a culture of responsibility

An unlimited PTO policy can be successful if it is accompanied by a culture of responsibility. Encourage employees to be mindful of their colleagues and the needs of the business when taking time off.

Lead by example and make sure that managers are also taking advantage of the policy in a responsible way. This will help to ensure that the policy is being used as intended, rather than being abused.

5. Create a standardized out-of-office workflow

To ensure that employees feel confident and capable of taking on additional responsibilities when colleagues are absent, we highly recommend creating a standardized and automated out-of-office workflow.

In current state, most organizations have a convoluted OOO process that filled with lots of arduous, repetitive, and manual tasks, tasks that are often missed or left incomplete by employees, especially if the time off they are taking is unexpected. This can include setting email autoresponders, finding and routing to inbound messages to backups, snoozing notifications, and more.

Fortunately, you can use an out-of-office management platform like Snoooz to help you automate this entire process and allow your employees to go “OOO” with a click of a button. You can learn more about it here.

By offering your Customer Success, Support, and Sales teams a trusted OOO process to follow, one that’s automated and increases productivity and ease of work, you can help to alleviate any concerns that employees may have about taking time off and ensure that the policy is being used effectively.

Conclusion

An unlimited PTO policy can be a great way to attract and retain top talent, but it's important to carefully consider how it will be implemented in order to avoid any negative consequences for customers. By clearly communicating the policy, setting realistic expectations, monitoring and adjusting as needed, fostering a culture of responsibility, and offering your workforce a trusted and standardized out-of-office workflow, you can successfully roll out an unlimited PTO policy without making customers suffer for it.